China Rapidly Expanding Nuclear Arsenal

China has doubled its nuclear warhead stockpile over the past decade. This is the fastest growth rate in history.

Under President Xi Jinping’s regime, China is increasing its nuclear weapons at the fastest pace in history. Currently, China has about 500 nuclear warheads and is expected to increase this to approximately 1500 by 2035, according to a report by the  New York Times (NYT) on the 4th (local time).

In December 2012, President Xi visited the Second Artillery Corps and stated, “Although the environment is challenging, we must establish a strategic plan to counter the strong military intervention of the enemy,” and added, “Nuclear weapons are the pillars that uphold the prestige of the great power China.” The Second Artillery Corps, which integrated China’s nuclear and missile forces, was promoted to the Rocket Force, the fourth military branch after the Army, navy, and Air Force in 2015.

The NYT interpreted the strong enemy mentioned by President Xi as the United States. The analysis suggests that Xi is trying to strengthen China’s relatively weak nuclear power to fulfill China’s diplomatic goals, such as territorial disputes with neighboring countries and blocking the expansion of U.S. influence in the Pacific region.

In particular, it is known that the main objective is to reduce U.S. influence on Taiwan, which China mentions as a unification target. If the U.S., which supports Taiwan’s security, directly intervenes in the issue between the two sides, there is an analysis that China could play the ‘nuclear card’. In fact, China is known to be developing missiles and submarines capable of carrying nuclear warheads, bombers, and hypersonic aircraft, and constructing test sites for new nuclear tests.

The NYT stated, “While past Chinese leaders have perceived nuclear weapons as defensive, President Xi sees them as a ‘latent sword’,” and explained, “Chinese military strategists believe that Russia, which is hostile to the U.S., also used the nuclear card to prevent intervention from the Western world. They think that Russia used the nuclear card to limit the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) response when it invaded Ukraine.”